Warriors: The next generation Book 1 - Silver Fire
by Lazerkat
Summary: This fanfic takes place after 'The Last Hope' and so if you haven't read that then you should avoid reading this. This story follows Silverkit and Flamekit, kits of Cinderheart and Lionblaze. The two kits are uncovered to have a special destiny, and an old enemy will return for revenge. Find out what happens in the next generation...
1. Prologue

_Jayfeather jerked awake. Bright sunlight filled the _medicine cat den. He was surprised by the strong kit-scent coming from his back, where Jayfeather felt four paws digging into him. The kit had been prodding him with one tiny paw, but had stopped when Jayfeather woke. He broke into a happy purr. Normally Jayfeather would have clawed someone's pelt off for disturbing his sleep, but his six-moon old niece Silverkit was one exception.

"Jayfeather, come and play with me and Flamekit!" she mewed excitedly, "We're going to play badger attack." The silver-grey she-kit was fizzing with energy.  
"Why can't you get Lionblaze or Cinderheart to play with you?" Jayfeather asked, curious.  
"Lionblaze is patrolling and Cinderheart said to go and find someone to play with while she rests." Silverkit frowned, then brightened again as she said, "But you're more fun to play with anyway."  
"Okay then." meowed Jayfeather, then sat up after Silverkit had slithered off his back with a soft _plop_. He followed the kit out of his den and into the main part of camp.

As he stepped into the clearing, Jayfeather scented Briarlight dragging herself towards him from the direction of the elders den. Briarlight had been crippled when a tree fell onto the camp. Now her hind legs were useless, forcing Briarlight to drag herself around with her forepaws. She was still a valued cat of ThunderClan though, and helped in the medicine cat den when she could. By now Briarlight was in front of Jayfeather. Her fur smelt of herbs.

"Jayfeather, we're running out of coltsfoot and Purdy's breathing isn't good." she told him, "Can you go and get some more in case we have to use all that's left?"  
Jayfeather flicked his tail, annoyed. He had just been going to play with Silverkit, and Jayfeather liked spending time with the energetic silver cat. He took a moment before answering. Then Jayfeather sighed and hung his head.  
"Fine, but as long as you find someone to play with the kits." Jayfeather didn't want Silverkit and Flamekit to have no one to play with after he told them that he would.

Just then Jayfeather heard Silverkit and her brother come scampering up to him. _Sorry kits, _Jayfeatherthought. Silverkit suddenly stumbled into Flamekit and they both fell to the ground. Jayfeather winced at the sound of their landing and wondered if they had hurt themselves. But the kits didn't stay on the ground for long and picked themselves up almost as soon as they had fallen down.

"Come, _on _Jayfeather!" urged Flamekit, who was nosing Jayfeather's front left paw. "Let's go play!"

"I can't," the apprentice medicine cat repied flatly. "I have some medicine cat stuff to do."

Jayfeather's heart tore when he heard the kits' tiny tails droop onto the ground with a muffled _thud._

"But who's going to play with us?" Silverkit wailed.

"I will," answered a familiar voice, and Jayfeather smelt Dustpelt coming over to them. _Just whose great idea was it to send the second-oldest tom in ThunderClan to play with two energetic kits? _he wondered. But Jayfeather decided to say nothing.

All of a sudden Silverkit and Flamekit were excited again. The kits squealed and leapt onto Dustpelt's back, making the elder stumble.

"Don't worry Jayfeather, I'll keep these two out of trouble," reassured Dustpelt. Jayfeather reluctantly turned and padded over to the camp's exit. A hunting patrol was just coming back, loaded with prey. At the head of the patrol Jayfeather saw his brother, Lionblaze. The two littermates greeted each other and went on their way. Within a few moments Jayfeather was through the camp walls and in the ThunderClan forest he loved so much. The forest was cool and shady as Jayfeather searched for coltsfoot.

The apprentice medicine cat lifted his head and parted his jaws to scent the air. Then, in a heartbeat light flooded into Jayfeather's eyes and he found that he could see. _Uh oh_, Jayfeather thought as he looked around at the lush forest, _what's going to happen now?_

The grey tom could normally only see in dreams, or if he was having a vision. But visions and dreams in which Jayfeather could see usually foretold trouble.

His question was answered when the green forest dissolved around him and in its place he saw the camp. It was covered in fighting, screeching cats of all different colours and scents. Cats from all four Clans were fighting against evil-looking and smelling cats. Panic rose in Jayfeather as he recognised this battle. This was a vision of just part of the biggest battle the Clans had ever fought, against the Dark Forest when they broke through to the Clan world. Brave cats had been lost in that battle from every Clan, even StarClan. A horrible thought struck Jayfeather; _are the Dark Forest going to attack again? _All of a sudden the Dark Forest cats were on fire. Jayfeather instinctively recoiled. This was no ordinary fire though, it was silver! But before Jayfeather could really think about what was happening, darkness swallowed everything and he was blind once more. _Something_ _is_ _going_ _to_ _happen_ _to_ _ThunderClan_, Jayfeather thought, a sense of foreboding creeping through him, _something_ _bad_.


	2. Chapter one

_Silverkit__ squealed and leapt onto Dustpelt's back. As her _brother did the same, the elder became unbalanced and Dustpelt toppled over onto his side.

"Don't worry Jayfeather, I'll keep these two out of trouble," he reassured Jayfeather.

Silverkit let out a mrrow of laughter and stood triumphantly on top of Dustpelt, Flamekit at her side. Silverkit was so excited that she almost forgot her disappointment of Jayfeather being busy.

"Take that, badger!" Flamekit yowled down at the dusky-coloured cat beneath his paws.

"So I'm a badger now am I?" asked Dustpelt, amusement in his voice. Silverkit pushed her paw against his face.

"Silence! Badgers can't talk," she told Dustpelt. "They growl." The elder then started to growl at his attackers. Silverkit nodded at him.

"That's better," she said. Just then Silverkit saw Lionblaze, and the rest of his patrol came into the camp, each member carrying a piece of prey. The silver she-kit jumped off Dustpelt and ran clumsily over to her father. Flamekit was not far behind. By the time they reached the muscular warrior Lionblaze was sifting through the fresh-kill pile.

Lionblaze looked up and started purring when he saw his kits running to greet him.

"Lionblaze!" Silverkit yowled, jumping onto the golden warrior's back and clinging on with her tiny claws. Lionblaze shook himself in a gentle attempt to get the kit off. Soon the older cat realised that he would not be able to shake his daughter off without hurting her. Lionblaze decided to try a different tactic instead.

"Hello Silverkit. Can you get off my back now?" politely meowed Lionblaze. Silverkit cheekily shook her head and clung on tighter. She shifted her position so that she was now sitting on her father. _I dont want to get off!_ She thought, and narrowed her eyes in determination. In that moment, Silverkit felt like no cat could make her get off of the golden warrior. In that moment, she was Silverstar, sitting on the Highledge, looking out over her Clan. _One day I will be Silverstar_! she thought. _One day this will be my Clan._

"I'm going to sit on you forever!" Silverkit declared, as she puffed out her chest and held her head high. Dustpelt, who was watching, snorted with amusement. Silverkit glared at the dusky brown elder, but Dustpelt just sat, with his eyes sparkling with laughter.

"Okay, I give up," meowed Lionblaze, his shoulders sagging. Silverkit relaxed. Then, quick as a flash, while the kit's guard was down Lionblaze reared up on his hind legs so that Silverkit slid off his back. _Not fair! _ Silverkit thought as she sat on the ground frowning up at the stronger warrior.

Suddenly Cinderheart appeared at the entrance of the nursery, yawning.

"I hope you two haven't been getting into any trouble," she said, padding forward to touch noses with Silverkit and Flamekit. As Silverkit greeted her mother, her thoughts drifted to Jayfeather. _I wonder where he is..._

Looking around, Silverkit saw that Leafpool was at the fresh-kill pile, dragging out a rabbit. Bounding over to her, she stopped a mouse-length from the medicine cat's paws.

"Have you seen Jayfeather?" Silverkit demanded. Leafpool nodded.

"You just missed him. Jayfeather went straight to Bramblestar's den after he got back."

Silverkit's pelt pricked with a feeling of unease. Just then Bramblestar himself came out of the shadowy entrance to his den and padded out onto the Highledge. His amber gaze swept the camp and rested on Silverkit. Bramblestar narrowed his eyes, but didn't look away from the kit. Jayfeather and Squirrelflight, the deputy, followed their leader out and jumped down to the ground. Silverkit, unsettled by Bramblestar, ran over to Jayfeather. His face was expressionless as he stalked over to his den.

"You're back!" mewed Silverkit, forcing a purr. "Can you play now?" Jayfeather turned his head in the direction of his niece, even though he couldn't see her.

"Uh...no, sorry," meowed Jayfether, obviously distracted. "Tonight is half-moon. I need to rest before I go to meet the others at the Moonpool." Every half-moon the medicine cats and their apprentices all meet at the Moonpool, a place owned by none of the four Clans. There they shared tounges with StarClan, the Clan of the warrior ancestors. _Tonight isn't the half-moon! _Silverkit thought, confused. _Why did Jayfeather tell me that is was?_ The silver she-kit stared, dumbfounded, after her uncle, who had picked up his pace after speaking to Silverkit. Soon Jayfeather had disappeared inside the medicine cat den and the kit couldn't see him anymore.

Silverkit looked up at the sky and saw that it was just past sunhigh. Today had been a very long day. _And everyone has been acting so weird! _Silverkit suddenly felt a fluffy tail curl around her tiny body. When she looked down Silverkit saw that the tail was grey and she instantly recodnized it as Cinderheart's. Then her mother pulled herself closer to her kit so that Silverkit was nearly buried in grey, milk-scented fur. She snuggled deeper into her mother's warm pelt and yawned.

"I think that it's time to go back to the nursery for a nap," Cinderheart said softly, licking her kit's head. Silverkit didn't resist when she was picked up by the scruff and carried to her nest. When the silver she-kit was gently placed in the cozy moss with Cindeheart curled around her Silverkit was vaguely aware that Flamekit was already in the nest.

_One day I'm going to be the best warrior ThunderClan has ever seen._ Then Silverkit's vision went fuzzy and darkness closed in all around her. Within seconds she was fast asleep.


	3. Chapter two

_When Flamekit woke up it was dawn._ _His sister Silverkit _was still asleep. Upon a first glance, it would seem that Flamekit's mother Cinderheart was asleep too. But when she felt the flame-coloured tom stirr Cinderheart opened one eye. Flamekit wriggled closer to the grey queen.

"Stop wriggling, or you will wake Silverkit," whispered Cinderheart. " Why don't you go outside until your sister can join you? Try not to get too dirty though, it's your apprentice ceremony today!" she added. Flamekit felt a rush of anticipation and excitement. Today was the day that he would start his training to be a warrior. _What will my warrior name be? _Flamekit wondered. _Flamefur? Flameclaw? I can't wait to be a real warrior! _Cinderheart nosed her daydreaming kit out of the nest. Flamekit scampered out of the nursery and into the sandy clearing that was the middle of the camp.

The dawn patrol was headed towards the tunnel leading out into the forest. Squirrelflight was leading with Cloudtail, Bumblestipe and Poppyfrost following her. Flamekit bounded up to the warriors.

"It's my apprentice ceremony today!" he mewed proudly, puffing out his chest.

"It sure is, Flamekit," said Squirrelflight. "Have you got any idea of who your mentor might be?" The fire-orange tom tilted his head to the left. Flamekit hadn't thought about that. He shook his head. There was a short silence as the small tom was lost in his thoughts.

"I have no idea. I'd rather wait anyway, and find out later," said Flamekit eventually. "Do you know who it will be?" he asked Squirrelflight.

"Yes," the deputy told Flamekit. "Bramblestar asked for my opinion yesterday. Last night he gave me his decision." Flamekit felt a spark of curiosity. He wanted to know who his mentor would be. But at the same time Flamekit also didn't want to know and ruin the surprise. _Squirrelflight probably wouldn't tell me anyway, _he decided. The orange tabby tom sat and watched as the patrol walked in single file out of camp. Poppyfrost paused in front of Flamekit and touched noses with him.

"I'm sure you will make a great apprentice. Good luck for later," she meowed. Flamekit thanked Poppyfrost and watched as the tortoiseshell warrior ran to catch up with the others. Very soon Flamekit was alone in the middle of camp. The tom's belly rumbled and he felt a pang of hunger. Flamekit glanced at the fresh-kill pile. There was only a mouse and a shrew left. The kit padded over and took the mouse in his jaws.

Flamekit crouched down and bit into the prey. It wasn't warm anymore, as it was caught yesterday morning but to the little cat eating in the peace of the morning, the mouse tasted delicious. Flamekit had been allowed to eat prey for a moon and a half. He was used to the flavour but it was still exciting to bite into the soft flesh and chew the meat. Milk seemed boring now compared to eating real food. Flamekit suddenly had a thought. _This might be my last meal as a kit._ _The next time I eat I might be Flame_paw_. _This thought excited Flamekit and he couldn't stop himself from jigging up and down.

"Hello Flamekit. Are you cold?" mewed Bramblestar from behind, making Flamekit jump in surprise. The kit's fur burned with embarrassment.

"Uh, no Bramblestar," Flamekit mewed sheepishly. "I'm just excited about today, you know with my ceremony and all." The brown tabby nodded his strong head.

"I do know," Bramblestar replied. " I was very excited when the day I became an apprentice too. Tawnypelt was as well." he added wistfully, the ThunderClan leader's amber eyes full of regret.

Flamekit had heard about Bramblestar's sister, who left shortly after becoming an apprentice to join ShadowClan. Tawnypelt left to be with her father Tigerstar, the reason being that she didn't feel welcome in ThunderClan. Many cats did not trust Bramblestar and Tawnypelt because their father was one of the most evil cats to ever live, although at the time only ThunderClan knew that Tigerstar was bad. Bramblestar was also half-brother to the RiverClan medicine cat, Mothwing. It was pretty unusual to have kin in two Clans other than your own.

A rustle from the warriors den got Flamekit's attention. He snapped his head around to look at what made the sound. Dovewing and Bumblestripe walked out of the den side-by-side, tails entwined. _Will I ever have a mate? _ Flamekit wondered. The orange tom watched the two love-birds settle down at the edge of the clearing and start sharing tounges.

"It won't be long before we have more kits," remarked Bramblestar, who was also watching the warriors. Flamekit just nodded. "Now that you and your sister are going to be apprenticed, I think that Daisy might get a bit bored with no one to look after." Flamekit nodded again. Just then a flash of silver at the edge of the kit's vision told him that Silverkit had woken. She was bounding over to greet her brother.

"Hey Flamekit! How long have you been up? Are you excited for the apprentice ceremony? Who do you think our mentors might be?" Silverkit was obviously overexcited and bouncing up and down with energy. Bramblestar waved his tail good-bye and went to join Dovewing and Bumblestripe. Flamekit shrugged at Silverkit.

"I dunno. Do you wanna play a game?" mewed the tom. Silverkit swiped playfully at her brother's muzzle with claws sheathed. She then turned around and bolted off.

"Can't catch me!" teased Silverkit. Flamekit took off after her as fast as his short legs would carry him.

"Oh yes I can!" panted the orange kit as he struggled to catch up to Silverkit. The silver she-kit was faster than Flamekit, so plus a head start her brother had no hope of catching Silverkit. Despite that fact, the two littermates played and chased until they were both panting and gasping for breath. Flamekit lied down next to Silverkit and looked up at the sky. _Is it past sunhigh already? Wow,_ he thought. Little did the orange cat know that his mother had just come out of the nursery and was now behind them.

"What happened to you two!" exclaimed Cinderheart, who was staring horrified at her kit's dirty and ruffled pelts. Immediately the wide-eyed queen started roughly washing Silverkit's head.

"Dove...wing!" called Cinderheart in-between licks. "I need...your...help!" The pale grey she-cat quickly came padding over.

"What do you nee-" Dovewing started to say but broke off when she saw the kits. "Oh."

Suddenly Flamekit felt his fur being smoothed and cleaned by a strong tounge as Dovewing washed him. The tiny tom tried to squirm away but the she-cat just held him down with one grey paw. It took several minutes to clean the kits, even with both she-cats working hard. Finally Flamekit was released. As he glanced down at his belly, Flamekit saw that his fur was perfectly clean and shiny. He decided that he liked it better that way. Cinderheart and Dovewing were sitting together admiring the kits, now nice and neat. Then Flamekit saw his mother narrow her eyes.

"You better not mess yourselves up again before your ceremony," she told them sternly.

"We won't Cinderheart," her kits promised. Just then Bramblestar jumped up onto the Highledge.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" meowed the dark brown tom. Cats swarmed from their dens and formed a crowd in the large clearing. Flamekit, Silverkit, Cinderheart and Dovewing followed. Silverkit let out a squeal of excitement. Cinderheart silenced her with a glare.

"Today we have two kits who are going to be apprenticed. Silverkit, step forward." said Bramblestar, gesturing with his tail. The crowd parted to let the silver-grey she-cat through. Silverkit walked nervously down towards her leader and stopped when her Clanmates were behind her and only the Highledge parted the she-cat from Bramblestar.

"Silverkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Silverpaw," meowed the ThunderClan leader. Silverpaw's blue eyes sparkled. "Your mentor will be Ivypool. I hope Ivypool will pass down everything she knows to you." Bramblestar turned to the silver-and-white she-cat, who stepped forward. "Ivypool, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have received excellent training from Cinderheart and you have shown yourself to be courageous and loyal. You will be the mentor of Silverpaw and I expect you to pass on all you know to her." Ivypool took a step towards her new apprentice and extended her nose to Silverpaw. Silverpaw also stretched her head closer to her mentor and the two she-cats touched noses. Then mentor and apprentice moved left so that Flamekit had room for his ceremony.

"Flamekit, step forward," meowed Bramblestar. The fire-coloured tom walked slowly down the path that had been made by his Clanmates. Flamekit tried to make himself look as dignified as possible. Very soon he was in front of his leader.

"Flamekit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is also time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Flamepaw," said Bramblestar. "Your mentor will be Cloudtail. I hope Cloudtail will pass down everything she knows to you," Cloudtail had already come forward and was ready when Bramblestar continued. "Cloudtail, you are ready to take on another apprentice. You have received excellent training from Firestar and have shown yourself to be independent and courageous. You will be the mentor of Flamepaw and I expect you to pass on all you know to him." The two toms also shuffled closer to each other so that they could touch noses. As Flamepaw felt his nose meet his new mentor's he got a sense that this would be fun having Cloudtail teaching him. The orange apprentice broke into a purr.

"I didn't think that I would have another apprentice before I went to join the elders," murmered Cloudtail. "But I must admit I would rather have you as my apprentice than your sister." added the white tom, who also started purring. Then the whole Clan started to congratulate the new apprentices.

"Good luck Silverpaw!"

"Congratulations Flamepaw!"

"I am so proud of you two!" Flamepaw heard his mother call. He craned his neck to see her through the sea of cats, but Flamepaw was too short to see much. Then he finally saw a flash of grey, and Cinderheart was at his side. The orange tom nuzzled into his mother's belly fur with his head. It seemed like forever until the crowd of cats melted away and everyone settled down for the afternoon.

"Well, I guess I should go and see if my nest is still in the warrior's den." meowed Cinderheart as she leaned backwards so that her son was no longer on her chest. Flamepaw sat up straight and watched his mother pad off slowly to her den. After she had disappeared the new apprentice looked up. As he did so Flamepaw saw that the first red rays of sunset were streaking the sky. _I think that maybe I should be making a nest..._ As he thought this Flamepaw saw Silverpaw dancing sideways toward him. Cloudtail was also walking up to him, but stopped and snorted when he saw the silver-grey she-cat.

"What in StarClan are you doing Silverpaw?" asked the fluffy white warrior. "You look like a ...Oh, for once I don't know what you look like. But whatever you are, you're not a cat." Silverpaw stopped and frowned at Cloudtail. This turned into a defiant stare as she started her little dance again. Cloudtail sighed and rolled his eyes. Flamepaw gave his mentor a helpless look and shrugged. He then followed his sister to the apprentice den. As Flamepaw entered the tunnel, shadows engulfed him and soon no one could see the bright-coloured tom.


	4. Chapter three

**Thanks guys so much for reviews! I really love it. Do you people really like my story so much?! Warrior names for Silverpaw and Flamepaw are welcome!**

_Ivypool stood over her sleeping apprentice and _poked her in the side with one paw.

"Get up."

"But I'm still sleeping!" mumbled Silverpaw as she put one paw on her ear in an attempt to block out her mentor.

"Sure you are," said Ivypool. "Oh well, I guess you won't be coming to your first hunting session this morning," the silver-and-white warrior sighed with fake disappointment.

Silverpaw pricked her ear at this, tempted to get up. It only lasted for a second though, and the silver apprentice quickly went back to her sleeping act.

"I was going to teach you all of these special techniques," Ivypool went on. "But now, maybe I should teach them to Flamepaw instead." Silverpaw leapt up, unable to resist the bait any longer.

"I'm coming!" she declared, with a majestic swish of the tail to emphasise. Silverpaw sashayed out of the apprentice's den, head held high.

Once she had entered the clearing that was the main part of the ThunderClan camp, Silverpaw looked around for her fiery-furred brother, Flamepaw. _I can't believe that she was thinking about trying to teach _him_ special hunting stuff without me! _Silverpaw thought furiously. Finally she spotted 'him', over by the fresh-kill pile with his mentor Cloudtail.

Silverpaw started of towards the two toms, tail in the air, kinked. She tried to make herself look as dignified and confident as possible. As Silverpaw neared her brother and his mentor, she could hear what they were talking about.

"-oday we are going to the training grounds to do some battle practice with your sister," Cloudtail was saying to his apprentice. Silverpaw stopped in front of the pair and sat down next to Cloudtail, making a big fuss about curling her perfect tail over her snow-white paws.

"Morning Cloudtail!" she cheerily greeted the white warrior. "Flamepaw," Silverpaw nodded to her brother, who muttered something that sounded like 'good morning to you too".

"Aren't you just _soo _excited about our first proper battle lesson, dear brother?" asked Silverpaw in her best little-miss-innocent voice. Flamepaw scowled.

"Aren't you just _soo _excited?" he mimicked.

Cloudtail, meanwhile, was watching all of this with an understanding smirk.

"If you two are quite done," he interrupted, "we have some battle practice to do."

"But if you keep behaving like this," added Ivypool, who had come out from the apprentice's den and was now standing behind the two apprentices, "i'm sure that Sandstorm has some ticks for you to take care of."

Both siblings whirled around and snapped to attention at this, wide-eyed.

"Good. Now, let's go," nodded Cloudtail, who started off toward the tunnel in the thorn barrier.

Hostility forgotten, Silverpaw and Flamepaw ran side-by-side together after Cloudtail, with Ivypool brining up the rear. The group were soon out of sight and in the shady green forest.

Silverpaw bounded along behind her brother's mentor, going over the hunting tips that Amberpaw had given her last night. _Watch out for twigs, leaves or anything else that could make a noise when you step on them, _Silverkit remembered. Suddenly, the scent of mouse flooded her senses and everyone froze.

"Silverpaw," hissed Ivypool, nodding her head in the direction of the prey.

Silverpaw nodded back at her mentor and silently glided through the undergrowth. Through the next fern, the silver-and-white she-cat could see her target. A nice, plump brown mouse. It was nibbling on a nut, back towards it's hunter. _This is my chance, _Silverpaw thought. She stalked forward a few steps more and then leapt. She landed squarely on the mouse and killed it quickly. Silverpaw suddenly heard loud purring from behind her. She turned around slowly to see Ivypool, who was beaming with pride at her apprentice.

"You're a natural!" the warrior praised. Cloudtail came out next, his expression pure surprise.

"Anyone would think you've been training for at least a moon or two," shock clear in the white tom's voice. Flamepaw appeared next to his mentor, smiling encouragingly. _He's a good brother, _Silverpaw realised. _I made a near-perfect catch and he's not even jealous. Well, at least he doesn't _look_ jealous... _

A small rustle in a nearby bush caught everyone's attention. This time Flamepaw went after it. Silverpaw walked over to watch. A squirrel was standing in a small clearing, foraging for food. Al of a sudden it jerked it's head up and scampered off. Flamepaw shot out from his hiding place and took off after the squirrel. A few seconds later a triumphant meow indicated that Flaneoaw had either caught or cornered his prey. Then the orange apprentice himself came out from the undergrowth, the squirrel limp in his jaws.

"How'd you outrun a squirrel?" asked Cloudtail. Flamepaw grinned meekly.

"I didn't," he said, dropping the prey for the moment. "It ran into a tree."

"Wow," remarked Ivypool. Cloudtail snorted.

"Even I didn't know squirrels could be so dumb," he said. Silverpaw just stared at her brother, then at the squirrel.

"So..." said Flamepaw, breaking the silence, "should we keep hunting or go back to camp?"

Cloudtail answered, "Go back to camp." Then he turned and vanished into the bushes. Or, vanished as much as a pure white cat could. Ivypool followed him and flicked her tail to tell the apprentices to come. Flamepaw quickly picked up his squirrel and trotted after the warriors. Silverpaw stood for a few more seconds, closing her eyes and enjoying nature for a moment. Then she took the mouse in her jaws and started slowly in the direction of the camp, following the scent trails.

Everyone was already inside when the camp came into Silverpaw's view. The apprentice picked up her pace at this and soon was inside. The first thing that Silverpaw noticed was that almost all of the warriors were lounging about, sharing tounges and gossiping, Ivypool and Cloudtail included. Another thing was that Dovewing and Bumblestripe weren't in sight. Silverpaw walked over to the fresh-kill pile and deposited her mouse. Then she heard excited murmurs sprout among her Clanmates. A quick look around uncovered the reason.

Dovewing and Bumblestripe were standing outside the medicine cat den, both looking very proud. Silverpaw guessed that they were expecting kits. Her estimate was confirmed when the pair headed toward the nursery.

"Hey, Silverpaw!" called Bumblestripe. "Can you go and fetch some moss?" Silverpaw nodded and turned to head back out, only to realise that she didn't know where moss grew. After a scan of the clearing, the silver apprentice spotted Amberpaw and her siblings, Dewpaw and Snowpaw.

Silverpaw trotted over to Amberpaw and asked her if she could come with her. The orange-and-white she-cat agreed and they both walked over to the entrance.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" the two apprentices turned to see Bramblestar on his perch above the rest of ThunderClan. Silverpaw walked over to join the crowd that was forming below their leader. Amberpaw came and sat next to her, eyes shining. _Oh! _Silverpaw realised as she watched her fellow apprentice groom herself. _Amberpaw is having her ceremony! _ Everyone fell silent and waited for Bramblestar to speak. The brown tabby leapt down from his ledge and stood in front of the ThunderClan cats.

"Today we have three apprentices who are ready to become warriors," he began. "Amberpaw, Dewpaw and Snowpaw, come forward." The three littermates came to stand together in front of their leader. "I, Bramblestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn." Cloudtail and Brightheart were sitting side-by-side at the edge of the mob, watching their kits.

"Amberpaw, Snowpaw and Dewpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" The trio quivered with excitement and answered.

"I do," Amberpaw's voice rang out loud and clear.

"Yes," Snowpaw said, sounding as if he still couldn't believe what was happening.

"I do," said Dewpaw, quieter than the rest.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names," Bramblestar took a deep breath before continuing. "Amberpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Amberspots. StarClan honours your courage and skill, and we welcome you to ThunderClan as a full warrior." The leader rested his chin on Amberspots' head and she licked his shoulder.

Then Bramblestar turned to face the other two. "Dewpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Dewheart. StarClan honours your intelligence and kindness and we welcome you as a full warrior." Again Bramblestar rested his chin on the new warrior's head and Dewheart licked his shoulder. Finally the ThunderClan leader turned to Snowpaw. The white tom quivered slightly as the brown tabby continued. "Snowpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Snowfire. StarClan honours your enthusiasm and skill in battle and we welcome you as a full ThunderClan warrior."

"Amberspots! Snowfire! Dewheart!" The whole Clan, Silverpaw included, started cheering and congratulating the new warriors. Bramblestar raised his voice so that the cats could hear him over the noise and said, "All three of you must sit vigil at the camp entrance tonight." Then the chanting overtook and Bramblestar could no longer be heard. Silverpaw yawned and thought, _Gee, today sure has been tiring._ The silver apprentice walked over to the fresh-kill pile and picked out a vole. As she did so Silverpaw noticed that her mouse was gone. The she-cat padded over to a nice quiet spot at the edge of the clearing and and started to eat. After she had finished Silverpaw went off to bed. The last thing that she heard before she drifted off was the sound of the quiet talk of her Clanmates settling down for the evening.


	5. Chapter four

**Me likey de reviews! Thx for the support XD. Aanndd...School Holidays! Yeah, you know what that means!**

_Flamepaw woke to someone talking outside. His mother had always told him _that he had good hearing. The flame-coloured tom angled his ears towards the sound and recognised Squirrelflight's voice, coming from the direction of the medicine cat den. Flamepaw wasn't usually one to spy, but this sounded important. The tom opened his eyes and silently moved to the entrance of the den. From here he could make out what the deputy was saying.

"I don't see why you don't just tell them," Squirrelflight was arguing with someone. "If we are right then it's better to let them know what's happening as soon as possible." Flamepaw heard someone sigh.

"_If _we are right," the other cat said and Flamepaw heard that it was Jayfeather. "Remember what happened with Hollyleaf?" he said, referring to his sister who died in the battle with the Drak Forest.

"Still," Squirrelflight argued. "At least she knew what was going on. I know that they are your brother's kits but you can't protect them from destiny." Flamepaw jerked as he realised that the cats they were talking about were he and his sister!

"What if it's not their destiny?" Jayfeather sounded tired.

Flamepaw walked out into the clearing. Squirrelflight was standing in front of the medicine cat den, hackles up, back to the orange apprentice. Jayfeather was facing Flamepaw, and the tom could barely make out his features as the medicine cat apprentice was crouched in the shadows. Suddenly Jayfeather lifted his head and hissed at Squirrelflight. He then looked straight at the apprentice, even though he was blind. Squirrelflight turned to look too and then looked back at Jayfeather, silently challenging him to explain everything to his nephew.

Flamepaw lifted his chin and stammered, "I-I-I heard you talking. I want to know what's going on." Squirrelflight shot Jayfeather an I-told-you-so glare and then looked back at Flamepaw. The medicine cat apprentice just hung his head.

"I didn't want to tell you," he started hesitantly, "but the day before you became an apprentice I received an omen from StarClan." Flamepaw nodded and thought, _So we're part of some kind of new prophecy? _Then Jayfeather continued. "I saw a vision of the battle with the Dark Forest. Cinderheart ever told you about that one?" Flamepaw nodded again. Sandstorm had actually told him the story but that didn't matter. "Well, just as the Dark Forest were winning, silver fire destroyed them and ThunderClan won."

"So you think that Silverpaw and I are the silver fire?" Flamepaw asked, turning this new information over in his head. Squirrelflight nodded. Then a thought struck him. "So, are the Dark Forest going to attack again? But..."

"That's what doesn't make sense," Jayfeather finished. "The Dark Forest attack only happened a few moons ago."

"Uh, well I was going to say that a lot of cats would die," corrected Flamepaw. Then he shrugged. "But I guess it has only been a few moons. And I think that Silverpaw deserves to know too." Jayfeather dipped his head.

"Very well. You should get some sleep now."

Flamepaw turned and headed back to the apprentice's den. He heard Squirrelflight pad back to the warriors den. When the apprentice looked back over his shoulder he saw that Jayfeather had already disappeared into his den again. Flamepaw went back on his way and had to tred carefully as to not step on something and not wake his sister. Then he curled up in his nest and closed his eyes. But Flamepaw soon found that his head was too full of thoughts to sleep. After what seemed like moons, Silverpaw started to stir and the first rays of dawn came in through the entrance.

"Hey Flamepaw," she whispered, putting her perfect silver-and-white head onto her paws. Flamepaw whispered back, "Something happened a while ago, while you were still sleeping." Silverpaw seemed get that this was very important and nodded at her brother to go on. "Okay, well, basically we're part of a new prophecy." Silverpaw's ice-blue eyes widened. "Jayfeather had this omen where he saw the battle with the Dark Forest and then silver fire burned the bad cats."

"Wow," said Silverpaw. "Squirrelflight and Bramblestar know already right? And it happened the day before we became apprentices right?" Flamepaw nodded with surprise.

"How do you know?"

"I saw Jayfeather and Squirrelflight come out of Bramblstar's den that day and then he was staring at me."

"Mmmhmm." Flamepaw looked thoughtful.

"Well," he said after a while, "I think that we should be getting up." Silverpaw nodded and the two littermates walked out of the apprentice's den. The dawn patrol, Lionblaze, Squirrelflight, Amberspots and Dewheart, was just leaving. Lionblaze turned and saw his kits. Silverpaw rushed over to him to say goodbye before the golden warrior left. Flamepaw followed quickly and only just managed a 'bye!".

"I see that someone has gotten up," observed a voice behind the two apprentices. Silverpaw jumped and turned to see Ivypool standing in the entrance of the warriors den. The warrior licked her front paw and stared back at her apprentice.

"What?" Ivypool asked when Silverpaw nor Flamepaw said anything. They were still thinking about the conversation Flamepaw had overheard. "Seriously!" More silence. "Guys!" she shrieked, waking up half the Clan.

"I'm not a guy," Silverpaw commented quietly for what Flamepaw thought must be the first time in her life. Ivypool rolled her eyes and stalked off to the fresh-kill pile.

"You're right," he shrugged. Silverpaw suddenly got a playful gleam in her eyes.

"Do you wanna go play a prank on Ivypool?" she asked.

"What should we do?" Flamepaw wondered out loud.

"Let's put a fire ant in her nest," suggested Silverpaw. Flamepaw nodded and Silverpaw ran off to go find an ant.

He smirked at the thought of Ivypool squirming in her nest all night and then in the morning exploding and trying to find out who did it. Just then Cloudtail padded out of the warriors den, yawning. By now most of the cats in ThunderClan were awake. Cloudtail spotted Flamepaw and headed in his direction.

"Who was shrieking before?" the warrior asked, blinking sleep away. Flamepaw flicked his tail in Ivypool's direction, who was sitting with Mousewhisker. Cloudtail sighed.

"May I ask _why _she was shrieking?" he said, narrowing his eyes.

"Umm," Flamepaw said, unable to come up with an answer. "No."

Then he turned and quickly walked away from his mentor, leaving Cloudtail standing confused. Looking around, Flamepaw saw Jayfeather talking with Briarlight by the medicine cat den. The tom decided to go talk to the medicine cat appretice about the omen. As the orange apprentice neared Jayfeather, Briarlight stopped and turned to greet Flamepaw. After she did so Jayfeather seemed to know what his nephew wanted to talk about.

"Briarlight," he said softly. "Can you please give us a minute?" Briarlight nodded and dragged herself away. Then Jayfeather turned to Flamepaw.

"I want to know what you think will happen," the warrior appretice said firmly.

"I..." Jayfeather seemed lost for words and stared at the ground. "Somehow I don't think that it is possible for the Dark Forest to attack us again so soon. But if it isn't the Dark Forest, then why would they be the enemy in my vision?" Jayfeather shook his head, as if the answers might fall out of his ears. Flamepaw shrugged.

"Maybe it isn't the Dark Forest," he suggested. "Maybe they represent someone or something else."

"But _what_?" Jayfeather wailed, head thrown back like a kit who had just been told that they can't play ever again. Flamepaw blinked, surprised at this reaction that seemed so unlike the Jayfeather he knew. Satisfied with the talk, Flamepaw walked off, leaving Jayfeather in his confusion and worries. The orange tom saw Silverpaw outside the apprentice's den, grinning wickedly. Flamepaw tilted his head to the side once he had joined his sister.

"Did you do it?" he asked.

"Yeah!" she squeaked, eyes wide. Flamepaw shook his head.

"Do you think she'll guess?"

"Nah, Ivypool'll think it's Dovewing." Just then Flamepaw saw Dustpelt come up behind Silverpaw.

"Ivypool will think Dovewing did what?" he asked, glancing between both littermates. Then he broke into a huge grin. "You played a prank on her, didn't you?" he realised.

"Keep it down!" Silverpaw hissed. Dustpelt just flicked his tail. His eyes gleamed with amusement.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," he said. Flamepaw knew he wouldn't. "Just tell me what you did." Silverpaw glanced at her brother, then answered.

"I might have put a fire ant in her nest." Dustpelt let out a huge _mrrow _of laughter.

"I am _definitely _not telling anyone!" Dustpelt turned back to the elders den and waved his tail goodbye. "I want to see her reaction!" Silverpaw seemed relieved that Dustpelt approved and turned to go get something to eat. Flamepaw was suddenly aware that his belly was rumbling.

He decided to go and eat something as well. The fresh-kill pile was freshly stocked. Just as he was about to go and choose a piece of prey, Cloudtail called.

"We're going to go and do some battle practice!" _Wow, _Flamepaw thought as he ran after his mentor. _My first battle lesson!_


	6. Chapter five

**O_o 62 views in one day! Yay!**

_Silverpaw was thinking about her prank on Ivypool when she woke _up. Did the ant bite her? Had she figured out who did it? If she had, Silverpaw would be searching the elders for ticks for the next moon! The silver she-cat tossed and turned in her nest, unable to go aback to sleep even though dawn had not broken yet. It wasn't until Flamepaw stirred slightly that Silverpaw ceased her movement. Luckily, the other apprentice went back to his steady breathing. Silverpaw turned so that she was on her belly and placed her head on her paws. Her thoughts drifted once more to Ivypool, then to the omen.

Silverpaw woke up to the light that was coming in through the entrance tunnel to the den. _I must have fallen asleep, _she thought. Turning her head, Silverpaw noticed that Flamepaw was gone. _It must be nearly sunhigh! _she realised. Last night Flamepaw had proudly told her that he was going on the dawn patrol. Then Silverpaw flicked her tail in annoyance. Why didn't the sound of Flamepaw leaving wake her? Ivypool must have gotten over the ant by now. _Hmmm...then again she might not have._ Silverpaw decided to get up to see. Even before she got outside, the silver apprentice could hear someone screaming.

"Who did it?!" Ivypool had obviously slept in as well and just woken up. Once outside, Silverpaw saw her mentor, furious, standing in the entrance to the warrior's den. Dustpelt was at the edge of the clearing, watching the temper tantrum and purring with amusement. Ivypool turned to Silverpaw.

"Did you see anyone put a fire ant in my nest last night?" she demanded. Silverpaw shook her head. She hadn't seen anyone do it. How can you see yourself do something?

"You know that it could have been a warrior," she hinted.

Ivypool looked thoughtful and walked off to go investigate her nest further. Then the silver apprentice realised something; she forgot to cover up her scent! Dustpelt, seeing Silverpaw's sudden alarm, came over to her.

"Did she figure it out?" he asked. When the apprentice shook her head his eyes widened. "You forgot to cover up your scent?" Silverpaw nodded and the elder sighed.

"Rookie mistake," Dustpelt muttered as he walked off to go talk to Sandstorm.

Just then Ivypool returned from the warriors den. She was looking confused and was shaking her head.

"No scent," the warrior told Silverpaw, frowning. Now Silverapw frowned.

"But...how is there no scent?" she puzzled. Then it hit her. _Ivypool's my mentor! My scent will already be on her since she has spent all day yesterday with me. _Unfortunately though, Ivypool had noticed this realisation dawn on her face.

"Tell me what you know," she demanded.

"About what?" Silverpaw tried the innocent act. It didn't work.

"About the fire ant that mysteriously appeared in my nest last night!" said Ivypool angrily.

"Oh yeah, that," Silverpaw replied sheepishly. "Umm..."

"Do you know who did it?" demanded Ivypool.

"Well, technically, I kind of might know who put the fire ant in your nest," she mumbled.

"Well _who was it_?!" By now literally every cat in ThunderClan had come out to watch Ivypool's meltdown.

"I can't tell," said Silverpaw. Ivypool's eyes narrowed.

"Tell me, or you will be searching the elders for ticks for the next moon." Ivypool's voice was strangely calm. _Yep, _Silverpaw thought, _I'm doomed._

_"_I'll take the ticks thanks," Silverpaw figured that doing ticks for a moon and Ivypool still not knowing that it was her was better than whatever punishment she would get if she confessed. Plus, the elders told good stories. It would be _that _bad really...

Ivypool growled and stalked off to get something to eat. Silverpaw sighed with relief and trotted triumphantly over to Flamepaw, who was sitting with Jayfeather.

"She still doesn't know," the silver apprentice told them smugly. Flamepaw smiled.

"Who still doesn't know what?" asked Jayfeather suspiciously.

Silverpaw sighed. "I really don't want to have a repeat of that conversation."

Just then Squirrelflight came over to the small group.

"Silverpaw, Flamepaw. Border patrol. Now," Squirrelflight swept her tail in the direction of the entrance, where Cloudtail was waiting. Then the deputy turned and walked off to go order more cats on patrols.

"A border patrol!" squealed Silverpaw, and she ran off to meet Cloudtail. She skidded to a halt right in front of the entrance tunnel and craned her head up to look at her brother's mentor.

"Hello," Cloudtail purred, looking down at the silver apprentice.

"Hey," greeted Flamepaw, who waved his tail and sat next to Silverpaw. Cloudtail nodded at him and turned to exit the camp, indicating with his tail to follow. Silverpaw bounded after the fluffy white tom, leaving her brother to scurry after her.

"So," said Silverpaw when the three were well into the forest, "Ivypool's not coming?"

Cloudtail shook his head. "Nope." Silverpaw hoped that Ivypool would get over the prank soon. The rest of the journey was completed in silence. Finally the stream that marked the WindClan border came into view. Cloudtail went up to the bank and started to re-mark the border. Silverpaw went up to the next marker and tried to copy what Cloudtail had done. Suddenly, Cloudtail hissed. Silverpaw turned to see a kittypet standing in front of Cloudtail. He was a very glossy-pelted ginger-and-white tom. His eyes were amber and showed a mixture of fear, awe and determination. He looked about the age of a young warrior.

"This is our territory," growled Cloudtail. The kittypet blinked.

"Are you from ThunderClan?" he asked hesitantly.

Cloudtail slid out his claws. "We don't take in random kittypets." The kittypet frowned.

"I don't want to join..."

"Well, what are you doing here?"

The tom puffed out his chest. "I'm here to help you."

"How in the name of StarClan could a kittypet help _us_?"

The kittypet blinked again. "You don't know?" he ventured.

"Don't know what?"

"About BloodClan."

"Of course I know about BloodClan. Every kit is told about BloodClan."

"Good. So I've been roped into it and so I want t-"

"BloodClan doesn't exist anymore."

"Uh, yeah. It does."

"How is that possible? We left them in the old forest."

"Well, now they've rebuilt and they want to kill everyone because Firestar killed Scourge and some other BloodClan cats." Cloudtail's eyes widened in alarm. Then the kittypet looked thoughtful. Silverpaw didn't know that kittypets could think about anything other than where to sleep in their twoleg's den. "Hey, can I talk to Firestar?"

Cloudtail hung his head. "He's dead."

"Oh, umm... Can I talk to whoever's your leader now then?"

"No," Cloudtail growled.

"Why not?"

"Because you're a kittypet. Kittypets aren't welcome in the Clans." The kittypet waved his tail dismissively.

"Yeah, I know, I know. By the way, my name's Taffy."

"Don't care."

"I want to see your leader."

"Don't care."

"Why not?"

"Hey!" Silverpaw interrupted. Toms could be so annoying sometimes. "How about we take him to the camp? Bramblestar will want to hear what Taffy here has to say if it concerns BloodClan coming back." Cloudtail thought about this for a few seconds.

"Okay, fine," he growled and narrowed his eyes at Taffy. "But he stays in front of me." Cloudtail nudged Taffy in front of him.

"I have a name!" he protested. Taffy lifted his chin and started walking in the direction of the forest.

"Don't care," muttered Cloudtail.

Cloudtail gestured with his tail for Silverpaw to catch up to and walk in front of the kittypet.

Silverpaw nodded and ran off to get ahead of Taffy, Flamepaw close behind. _That kittypet's probably going to get himself lost! _she thought to herself. _Though I wonder if he's telling the truth about BloodClan?_

Finally Silverpaw spotted the ginger tabby weaving his way clumsily through the trees. Taffy had his nose in the air, trying to find the scent of ThunderClan's camp.

"Need help?" purred Silverpaw, coming up next to the kittypet.

"No," he replied. The tom suddenly veered off to one side, almost walking sideways.

"Do you know where you're going?" she asked.

"No."

The silver she-cat purred louder.

"I've been told to help you find the camp."

Taffy turned to give Silverpaw an annoyed glare. "I don't need...okay fine," he sighed, stopping. "Can you show me where this camp of yours is?"

"Sure. Just follow me." Silverpaw turned and started in the direction of the ThunderClan camp, Taffy following closely.

**By the way Taffy's mai kitty. I just couldn't resist :)**

**Thx again for the reviews!**


	7. Chapter six

**Eeeeeeeepppppppp! We has 10 reviews!**

**Okay, I've got some explaining to do here.**

**Guest: BloodClan would have told stories about how Firestar killed Scourge. And mai Taffycat's not a freakin' stalker. Read and there shall be an epic backstory.**

**Yowl: I shall think about it. I asked Taffy what he would want his warrior name to be (if he does become a warrior) but he didn't say anything XD You may suggest a name (or three) And I did not mention anything about anyone's scent changing. **

**Warrior names for Silver and Flame are still cool! (PM)**

_"Silverpaw! Wait up!" panted Flamepaw as he took off after his sister. She _had gone after that kittypet, Taffy. Without him. Just leaving her brother behind, running off with her greater speed. Without him. _Of course, Cloudtail sends little miss mousebrain off to go chase the kittypet, _Flamepaw thought wryly. By now the orange apprentice had lost sight of Silverpaw. Flamepaw sighed. The small tom started to head in the direction of the camp.

The forest was unusually quiet for sunhigh as Flamepaw walked through the dense undergrowth. Once or twice he caught a whiff of prey, but Flamepaw didn't stop. He just walked on slowly, using his nose to find the way. After awhile the tunnel leading into the camp came into view. The meows could be heard even from where Flamepaw was standing, _outside _the camp.

"Kittypet!"

"Why is there a kittypet in the camp?"

"Who brought him here?"

The fiery-pelted tom took a deep breath and walked into ThunderClan's camp. Is was pretty much chaos. Cats were peering out of den entries, standing around gosiping and casting hostile glares at Taffy, who was in the middle of the clearing. He was shaking slightly, but was trying not to show it. Silverpaw was standing next to the ginger tom, silently daring anyone to step forward. Then one voice rose above the many others, hushing the whole Clan.

"Silverpaw," Bramblestar said, striding forward to stand in front of the silver she-cat. "Why have you brought a kittypet to our camp? I assume that you have a very good reason." Silverpaw nodded.

"Yes, I do Bramblestar," she said. "Taffy, that's the kittypet's name, told me something that concerns the Clan's safety." Bramblestar's eyes sparked with interest as he turned to Taffy.

"Tell me this news," he commanded.

"Umm...it's a long story but, BloodClan has been revived and now they're here and they want to kill everyone because the old BloodClan was defeated an-"

"How is this possible?" asked Bramblestar angrily. "How did they find us?"

"This might take awhile to explain..."

Bramblestar sighed. "Okay, come to my den and explain then. It's not like I have anything else I could be doing," he added dryly. "Silverpaw, Flamepaw, I want you to come too."

_So Bramblestar thinks that this might have something to do with the omen, _Flamepaw mused. He shrugged and followed Silverpaw, Taffy and Bramblestar to the leader's den. The orange apprentice stopped short at the Highledge. It was huge!

"So...we're supposed to climb _that_?" he asked, flicking his tail in the direction of the steep cliff in front of him.

"Yup," said Silverpaw, and she started to slowly scale the wall. "It's just like climbing a tree!"

Flamepaw frowned but followed suit. Climbing a tree, as it turned out, was a lot easier than climbing up a rock cliff. But a minute (and one fall) later, Flamepaw stood triumphantly on the Highledge.

"Took you long enough," Silverpaw purred. She turned and disappeared into Bramblestar's den. Flamepaw scurried inside. The ThunderClan leader had already sat down in his nest and was now grooming himself. Taffy was sitting next to and kind of leaning on one of the side walls. Silverpaw was sitting near the opposite wall and beckoned with her tail for her brother to join her.

Flamepaw walked over to the silver-and-white apprentice and sat down next to her.

"So," Bramblestar began, "tell us everything. From the start, right to the very end." Taffy nodded and launched into his story.

"Well, I was at home, in the garden, then this big cat came and he was all like, 'you're coming with me' and I was like, 'nah, I don't wanna come with you' and he was like, 'too bad' and then he just picked me up and took me t-"

"Maybe not so much detail," sighed Bramblestar.

"Oh, okay. So after he took me to the new BloodClan, I met their leader. He was mean." Bramblestar raised an eyebrow. "He was called Frost. Then his 'deputy' turned out to be the big cat who took me, and he was called Thorn. So then they explained about the Clans, and the old BloodClan, and about Firestar, and their plan. So then I remembered some of the stories that my mother told when when I was a kitten. I remembered stories about the noble and brave warriors who were so awesome...and I decided that I wanted to help you. I want to be your spy on the inside." Taffy paused, looking for some sort of response.

After a few seconds Bramblestar answered, "You know how ruthless these cats are. If you get caught, you're dead."

"Well that's better than being a BloodClan cat," Taffy announced.

"It would help us if you could bring info...how about every quater moon you meet us wherever Silverpaw and Flamepaw found you today?"

"I'll do my best," the kittypet meowed solemnly. Bramblestar dipped his head.

"Well, you'd best get going then. BloodClan will get suspicious if you stay here for too long." Taffy nodded and started out of the den. _Good luck, _Flamepaw thought as he watched the ginger tabby walk away.

Flamepaw turned to Bramblestar. "Okay, so now what? Should we go or..."

"No, I want to talk about something else. Just wait here for a minute, I want to go get Jayfeather and Squirrelflight." Bramblestar got up and padded toward the entrance.

"You're going to fit everyone in _here_?" asked Silverpaw, giving her leader a strange look.

The brown tabby purred, "No, of course not. Well go into the forest somewhere. For now I just want to know where you are." With that he turned and leaped down from the Highledge.

Silence was what remained while Bramblestar was gone. Flamepaw just sat and stared at the ceiling while Silverpaw sighed and lied down on the floor. About a minute later, a large shadow filled the entranceway.

"Let's go." Silverpaw leapt to her paws and immediately started after the cat. Flamepaw followed more slowly after her.

As the orange apprentice jumped, or rather, half fell, down from the Highledge, he saw Bramblestar, Silverpaw, Squirrelflight and Jayfeather all waiting at the entrance to the camp. Flamepaw hurried over to join them and the group set off into the territory, led by Bramblestar. The afternoon was already nighttime cool and dark clouds threatened to release their load of water onto the forest. There wasn't much prey out, but that wasn't what the ThunderClan cas were wanting. After a few minutes of twisting and turning through the undergrowth, Bramblestar came to a stop at a clearing. The brown tabby tom walked over to the other side and sat down. Squirrelflight went to sit with him, while Jayfeather just sat alone, hunched in one corner. Silverpaw and Flamepaw sat down together so that the five cats kind of formed a triangle.

Bramblestar started by filling in his deputy and medicine cat apprentice in on what had happened in his den. Squirrelflight nodded occasionally and Jayfeather growled when Bramblestar mentioned BloodClan coming back. When he finished, the broad-shouldered leader leaned back and flicked his tail at Jayfeather.

"So, do you think that this relates to the omen or not?" he asked. Squirrelflight looked thoughtful.

Jayfeather replied, "Well, this is a big thing, you know with a battle that might be coming soon. But the omen was about the Dark Forest, not BloodClan." Bramblestar nodded.

Then an idea came to Flamepaw. "What do the Dark Forest and BloodClan have in common? Mabye that could tell us something!" Everyone thought for a few seconds about this. Then, Squirrelflight spoke up.

"This is just a theory," she began hesitantly, "but we have recently had a battle with the Dark Forest, and won..." Bramblestar's eyes widened.

"And the battle with BloodClan in the old forest was won by the Clans as well!" he finished. Jayfeather slowly nodded.

"But how does that help us?" the apprentice medicine cat frowned.

Bramblestar's tail drooped. "I don't know."

"We can figure that out later," Squirrelflight said, burying her muzzle in his shoulder. "For now we should be getting back. The Clan can't survive without their leader, deputy, medicine cat apprentice _and _the apprentices. Everyone will be wondering where you are, and you might want to tell the Clan about BloodClan." Bramblestar shook his broad head.

"No, I don't want to tell them anything until Taffy finds sone information about where, when and, you know. But we should go back."

Without another word, Bramblestar got up and lead the way back to camp.


	8. Chapter seven

**Hey, 'Sme again! *after a month or two* Thx so much for no flames I really appreciate it. Hmm, yeah, don't really have much of an excuse for not writing. I've posted four chapters of a new story on FictionPress though. Same user if you want to read it.**

**Yowl: Those names sound great!**

**Read. XD**

_Silverpaw collapsed in a heap on the ground. Her attacker smirked _and raised his paw to deliver the final blow. Or so he thought. Just as the orange paw came down, Silverpaw rolled to one side. She leapt to her paws and jumped onto the other cat's back. The attacker gasped as the air was knocked out of him and crumpled under her sudden weight.

"I surrender," the orange cat sighed. When Silverpaw still didn't move he said, "Get _off _you big lump of fur, I surrender!" Silverpaw still didn't budge.

"Silverpaw, get off your poor brother will you?" Cloudtail called. Silverpaw stuck out her tounge at him but got off of Flamepaw, who was glaring up at her.

"Finally," Flamepaw said, picking himself up and grooming his dusty fur.

"That was a good move, faking defeat," commented Ivypool. Cloudtail nodded and Silverpaw felt a rush of pride. _I'm gonna be the best warrior ThunderClan have ever seen! _

"Again," commanded Flamepaw, who was already crouching in a battle stance at the other side of the clearing. Silverpaw nodded and crouched on the opposite side of the clearing to him. Once both apprentices were ready, Silverpaw didn't wait longer than a second before she sprinted over to her brother. When the silver she-cat got about a fox-length away, she launched herself onto Flamepaw. _Got you now, _Silverpaw thought as she pinned the orange tom down. But suddenly, Flamepaw tucked his hind legs in and thrust them upwards, forcing Silverpaw to let go.

Then the orange apprentice crouched again, his tail flicking back and forth. _No way is he going to beat me! _Silverpaw ran at her brother and jumped. But Flamepaw was ready and dived under the silver she-cat. When Silverpaw landed, Flamepaw started to pummel her belly with sheathed paws. Silverpaw knew that in a real battle, if the fire-coloured tom under her was actually clawing her, that would hurt a _lot. _It could even send her running to the medicine cat. Silverpaw mentally clawed herself for being so stupid as to give her opponent a perfect opportunity.

As Flamepaw crawled out from under Silverpaw, the silver apprentice glanced worriedly at her mentor.

"I'm sorry," she started. But instead of the expected disappointment, Ivypool's eyes were full of understanding and amusement.

"It's okay, Silverpaw," she purred. "You don't have to be perfect, and this is your first time." The silver she-cat relaxed. So it's okay if she messed up a bit.

Cloudtail glanced up at the darkening sky.

"We should be thinking about getting back to camp." Ivypool nodded and turned to lead the way through the undergrowth. Silverpaw and Flamepaw followed. As the four made their way through the undergrowth, the sun began to set. The sky was streaked with pink and red. Then Ivypool suddenly stopped up ahead. In a heartbeat, she had launched into battle with someone, screeching with claws out.

Up ahead, flashes of white mixed with brown showed that Cloudtail was also locked in battle.

"Silverpaw, Flamepaw! One of you go and get back up," ordered Ivypool, struggling to keep a huge tom pinned. "They could be headed for the camp." In one shared glance, the littermates decided who should run. Silverpaw took off at top speed through the forest, leaving her brother to help fight.

_Get help, get help, _Silverpaw thought as she sped through ThunderClan's territory. Before long, the camp was in sight. The silver apprentice rushed through the barrier, ignoring the brambles that tugged at her pelt. As she burst into the clearing, Bramblestar came hurrying over.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, seeing the wild look in Silverpaw's eyes. Breathlessly, she nodded.

"We got...ambushed...by cats and Ivypool said...get help," she explained in between pants. Bramblestar immediately started calling cats.

"Lionblaze, Mouswhisker, Thornclaw, Hazeltail, Cinderheart and Squirrleflight! Come with me!" he called, and the cats came over to join them as Bramblestar took off through the tunnel. Silverpaw quickly nuzzled her parents in greeting before heading off with them on the patrol.

Outside the camp, everyone assembled around Bramblestar, who launched into a small speech.

"Okay everyone. The cats we are fighting are _outside _of the warrior code, and obviously want to make their presence known. Be careful, because they may try to kill you. Silverpaw, come and lead the way to the others. Let's show these rouges what we can do!"

All eyes turned to Silverpaw and she nodded before taking off in the direction of the mentors and her brother. Everyone was silent on the quick journey as they ran on towards the battle ahead. Although no-one spoke, but everyone was feeling the air crackling with tension.

Silverpaw heard it before she saw it.

The noise was the unmistakeable wail of a cat. Her brother. The silver and white apprentice ran even faster towards the noise. As the patrol burst into the clearing, Silverpaw saw it. Something that she had hoped to never see in her entire life. Flamepaw and Cloudtail were cornered by five rouges, out matched and tired. And on the ground, lying unnaturally still, was Ivypool. Two more rouges were standing over her body, grinning evilly.

They all turned when Silverpaw screeched her fury and leapt on the nearest rouge. Around her, the other ThunderClan cats also joined in the battle. The silver she-cat felt a huge rage building up inside, and unmercifully shredded the rouge who she was on top of. Now he started to screech and attempted to shake his attacker off. But Silverpaw just narrowed her eyes and dug her claws in deeper. Out of the corners of her eyes, the apprentice could see that ThunderClan was winning now.

"You!" she hissed coldly in the ear of the cat beneath her. "You better run. You better run as fast as you can back to your BloodClan buddies out there. And you tell them this: It isn't nice to kill cats! Especially ones with friends. Because friends avenge dead friends." With that she tore his ear with a claw and jumped off the rouge. He ran off, hissing, into the bushes. Silverpaw ran over to Ivypool and buried her muzzle in her fur.

"I'm so sorry Ivypool. I should have come back sooner," she whispered. All around her the BloodClan rouges were being pinned down and sent running. "And...I was the one who put the ant in your nest I'm so sorry," the she-cat sobbed. Someone gently laid a tail on Silverpaw's shoulder. The apprentice shouldered it off and started to groom her mentor's fur.

"She was a brave warrior," Bramblestar said gravely.

"And she died! And if she had been the one to run and tell you to come, then she would still be alive!" Silverpaw said, her vision going fuzzy with tears and fury.

"It wasn't your fault," he said gently. Silverpaw angrily rounded on him.

"Yes!" she yelled. "It was! Because I ran away from the battle, and she stayed. And died!" The silver and white she-cat turned and resumed grooming Ivypool's body. Bramblestar took a step back, surprised by her aggressive reponse.

"No," he told her sternly. "It was not your fault, and you didn't run away. You came and brought backup. With it, then more cats would have died. Like your brother." Silverpaw growled and ran off into the forest. Then, all of a sudden a voice whispered softly into her ears.

"Silverpaw, beware! There is a storm looming on the horizon. This storm will unleash its rage on all it can, good or evil. It will be a devastating storm if it is not controlled, but a powerful weapon controlled. You are the only one who can stop it, control it and start it."


End file.
